Darkness Rising
by Elkantar
Summary: Danger lurks around every corner. The assassins of Agonlaith kill without mercy, and General Cale believes these are the worst of his problems. To the assassin Niyara, this is her life. An impending darkness is starting to fall across the land, controlled by the Guild of Assassins themselves, and only Niyara and Cale have the knowledge to fight back. A Dungeons and Dragons FanFic.
1. Prologue

It was late at night, and Cale could not sleep due the many thoughts that were chasing each other within his mind, depriving the boy of his sleep. His parents had recently bought a child slave, a silent little girl by the name of Niyara. She was strange, and whenever Cale had tried to befriend her, the slave girl had given her unusual looks. Cale had never heard Niyara speak a word. She should be grateful, as his family had bought her to save her from the slave trade. Shaking his head in disapproval, Cale sat up in his bed. Niyara was only a few years younger than his own 13 years, yet she would not even speak to him. There was the slightest sound outside his bed room door, and Cale turned his head to see the shadow of _someone_ walk past shimmer under the door ever so briefly. The person sounded small, and Cale would bet any money that it was Niyara. It could not be his older brother Cirion, since the young man slept like a log.

Cale did not believe that Niyara was her name. Even though he knew little of the slave traders, he knew that the slaves they bought, or stole in some cases, were given new names. The girl had never spoken to him, and had only spoken a few words to his father, Lord Mikhail, and even then they had been one or two word sentences. Cale even began to wonder if the girl could speak at all. Niyara did not answer to him when he called her, and why would she? The assassin had _given_ her that name, and he doubted she remembered her old one. His father had told him that she was quite damaged, since she had been a slave and being bought and sold by different traders for most of her life. The only true thing that Cale knew of her was that Niyara was not her real name. It was a big step for Mikhail to buy a slave girl and welcome her into his home like family. Such a move was frowned upon by other members of the court, and Mikhail had already had several assassination attempts on his life. Their house was secure though, so nothing could enter its walls. His father was safe, but that did not mean that Cale appreciated that little girl wandering around the house at night. Cale had seen an assassin in his house before, and it had been quite frightening. Cale would give Niyara a good talking to, but it would wait until the morning after he had gotten her back to bed.

Growling at the thought of having to leave his room and send the ungrateful girl back to bed, Cale stood and reached for her dressing gown, which he pulled on. The young man's golden hair was dull in the darkened room, but his keen brown eyes could make out his door easily as he left the room. Blinking at the sudden change in lighting from the candles in the hall, Cale looked down to see where the younger girl had gotten to. Sighing, Cale followed the hall and stopped at the end, looking at both of the corridors that lead in both directions. A shadow moved in the corner of his eye, causing Cale to jump and spin to where he had seen something move. When he looked, there was nothing. He was alone, but he was sure that there had been something watching him. The hairs stood on the back of his neck as he walked down the dark corridor and saw that the door to his father's study was slightly ajar. Breathing quickly, Cale moved closer to the door, scared of what was on the other side.

On the floor surrounded in blood lay his father, his throat slit. Pale faced, Cale took a step forward into the room, but froze at the sight of Niyara, standing next to him in her white sleeping dress covered in blood.

"Ni...?" Cale stuttered, staring in disbelief at the little slave girl. She said nothing of course, but seemed to smile. "What are you doing here? What happened?! _What did you do?_" Cale said, words falling out of his mouth in a wall of emotion. Again, Niyara said nothing, and even looked a little shocked at what had happened, but she stepped back towards the window. Before Cale could intervene, a black shadow of a man swooped down from what seemed like nowhere, scooped up Niyara in his black shroud before disappearing out the window.

Once they were gone, Cale ran to the body of his father, falling to his knees by his father's side. Reaching out with trembling fingers, Cale tried to feel his father's blood covered neck for a pulse. There was nothing. Letting out a small cry and trying to fight the tears away, Cale let his head drop. His father was dead. What had Niyara done? She could not of killed him.. She would not have killed the man who saved her, could she? What, or who was that man with her? There was too much going on for Cale to register at this point. He did not even register one of the maids trying to pull him away or his mother's screams. All he could think was that Niyara killed his father.

"Good work, Niyara," the hooded man sad as he walked down the cobbled street, holding the hand of the little girl with long raven black hair and the white dress. "I am so proud of you."

"Thank you," Niyara replied, looking back to the window, her little heart beating fast within her chest. The deal had been that, if little Niyara helped Garret get into the house to assassinate Lord Mikhail, he would take her with him to train to become an assassin herself. To an eleven year old, that was a pretty good deal. So of course, Niyara had accepted. If Garret had failed his task, he would be killed by the bad men in the guild, and Niyara could not let the man that spent time with her in the dead of night and who cared for her die, now could she? Niyara had not originally wanted to help her. Lord Mikhail had saved her after all, but living in that house had been dull. She had not killed the man. Garret had, but the assassin had not planned his attack correctly, and it now looked as if Niyara herself had killed her adopted father, if you could call him that.

Garret had been watching the manor for several weeks now, trying to find a way to get in without the guard dogs mauling him where he stood. The windows could not be opened from the outside, and were protected by magic, so even Garret could not open them. Even the most skilled assassins had not been able to enter the manor, ending in their own deaths. The Guild of Assassins was cruel, and Garret refused to succumb to the same fate as those before him. Then one night he had seen a ghostly little girl unlock a window and climb out. It was then when the perfect plan came to mind. The Guild of Assassins was attacking the government of the city one kill at a time. Lord Mikhail was not the king, but his death would be a horrible blow to the high court, which was the plan.

"You must sleep, Niyara. We have a big day ahead of us to return to the guild. Come, child," Garret said, leading Niyara into a little inn in which he had been staying. Tomorrow, they would take his horse to the guild. He would collect his money and get permission to train Niyara as an apprentice. Everything was going to plan. Upon reaching their room, Garret reached out the door handle and muttered something under his breath, causing the door to unlock. Niyara watched with interest as he unlocked the door without touching it. She had seen slaves beaten and hurt, she had even been hurt herself and had the scars to prove it. Niyara had never seen someone's neck slashed by a dagger, and she had never seen that much blood.

Get some sleep," Garret said, leading Niyara to the bed. Once he had tucked her in, Garret crossed the room and settled upon the armchair by the empty fire place. His dark eyes watched Niyara sleeping for a moment before closing his eyes himself. The next morning, he would obtain some non-blood stained clones for his hopeful apprentice, and then they would leave this forsaken city. The older assassins thought he would not be able to assassinate The Lord of Agonlaith, they thought him too young and foolish. How very wrong they were. With a smirk on his lips at the thought of the looks on their faces, Garret slowly drifted off to sleep. Niyara had assisted him in getting into the manor by opening the window and distracting the Lord of the house, but Garret did not know why he had wanted her to come with him. He could sense that she was not happy there, and she did have potential. There was some darkness in her, and if it was not guided, it would destroy her mind and she would be rendered insane. Then again, everyone had some darkness within them, but it the person who decided whether it would control them or not.


	2. Chapter 1

It had been twelve years since that fateful night that had changed Niyara's life forever. Only the gods knew what her life would be like if she had not helped Garret and left the manor. Having seen what had happened to other women, Niyara speculated that she would have been married off to some rich bastard who had no feelings for her whatsoever. It was not the life for her, and Niyara was glad that Garret had saved her from the life of some pretty housewife. Crouching now, Niyara pulled the laces of her boots tightly before tying them securely. Standing, Niyara walked to her dresser where her array of knives and daggers lay still, their blades shining in the dim light. With ease of practice, Niyara sheathed a long dagger on each of her hips, and then slid a smaller knife into her right boot. Her leather armour making no sound as she stood, Niyara left her room. She was ready to complete her first mission without the help or assistance of her master.

Niyara knew Garret, however. He would break the rules just to watch her and ensure that she was fine. Rolling her bright blue eyes, Niyara walked down the dark corridor with swift movements of her lean legs. As she walked, the young woman reached behind her head and bundles her long black hair into a loose bun. Her hair always got in the way when fighting, and it was best to not make mistakes when the Guild of Assassins was involved. One slip up, one mistake, and it would be _her_ head on the line instead of her target's. Niyara lived in a small house in the poorer region of Agonlaith with Garret, but he was nowhere to be seen. Garret had always been too overprotective of Niyara, he still treated her as if she was eleven years old. He was a sweet and caring man, but he had to let her go one day. Besides, Niyara had starting saving the money that she stole from her kills and any money the Guild decided to pay her for her work. The Guild of Assassins were cruel and did not like giving the lesser assassins much in payment, but she managed to get her fair share.

The cool night air hit Niyara as she exited her home and locked the door behind her. She took a deep breath and began to make her way to the main inn of the poor district. Her target was a notorious thief by the name of Aerin, well that was the name the people knew him of. He stole from old travelling merchants, often injuring or killing them in the process. Aerin was a wanted criminal, and had managed to slip past the any guards he had come across during his travels. He had not however, slipped past the assassins. Her client had gone through the Guild, and she had been selected to take this pirate out. He was stealing goods and selling them on the black market. No client knew where the Guild was, and they had to dig out information to actually get an assassin to do a job for them. One would think that any member of the City Guard could also obtain this information, but a large majority of the assassins in the Guild, and all of the higher powers could use magic or had some magical ability. Niyara was not one of these magic users, and she was often looked down upon because she was _normal_. She had tried to use magic, but had always struggled with the basics of it, and eventually, she gave up completely.

Grating her teeth in annoyance, Niyara turned her thoughts away from those ignorant pigs in the Guild and focused on the task at hand. Finding a building near her own home, Niyara looked up at the window, then at the general structure of the building. It was a two story building, and Niyara could climb up. Scaling the wall, Niyara climbed up on top of the first window, which had a ledge above the opening. Feeling the lack of strength in the structure, Niyara climbed up to the next window, which had a balcony. Balancing on the balcony ledge, NIyara quickly pulled herself up to the ledge above the second window. Without pausing, Niyara then swung herself up and onto the roof of the house. The people who designed this building was almost asking for it to be climbed.

Standing above the poor district now, Niyara orientated herself, and then looked to the left. In the distance, she could just make out the inn in which her target was located. She knew what room he was in, since earlier that day she had subtly followed him while wearing a plain dress with her hair out. Niyara did not wear her assassins leathers all of the time - that would be ridiculous and awfully suspicious. Smirking to herself, Niyara crouched low to the roof and began to swiftly walk towards the edge of the building, before leaping across the adjacent roof. Keeping low, Niyara travelled across the rooves of the buildings before arriving at the inn. It was past midnight, so there no lights on in any of the windows. Jumping onto the roof of the inn, she slipped inside an open window.

Landing with a soft thud on the wooden floor of the second level, Niyara allowed her blue eyes to adjust to the darkness. She was in a long corridor with doors on either side, each with a different number. Aerin's room number was nine, and if he had changed it, Garret would have known. He knew everything with his tricky little magics. Niyara highly doubted that he would use magic to find out, but still. If Aerin had moved rooms, Garret would have told her. Approaching the door that had the number nine attached to the wooden surface, Niyara stopped and pulled out a lockpick that she had hidden in her sleeve. Testing the door knob first, Niyara found that it was locked, which was to be expected. Unpicking the lock was easy for Niyara, and she soon had the door open. Walking in quietly and with caution, Niyara's blue eyes looked to the bed. It was empty.

"Shit," Niyara swore under her breath. Suddenly, the door slammed shut behind her and she heard a man cry out behind her. Spinning around, she saw the thief Aerin charging her with a broadsword. Stepping out the way with ease and turning, Niyara smirked as she watched the man stumble at her sudden movement. Moving quickly, Niyara drew her daggers and held one against his neck and one pointing into his back behind his heart. The thief dropped his weapon immediately.

"If you're going to sneak up on the person trying to kill you," Niyara whispered into his ear as the man stood as still as he could. "It would be best not to let out a battle cry."

"I'm sorry! Please, don't kill me! It's business. It's only business. I didn't kill them merchants on purpose!" Aerin said, his voice rising in panic. She could feel him trembling in her grasp. Obviously the man was too cowardly to attack young merchants, because he was a rat.

"Business, you say?" Niyara purred into his ear, pressing the dagger harder into his back. "No. This is business," and with that, Niyara simultaneously stabbed her dagger through his back and into his heart, while also slashing his neck. Pulling her dagger out of him, the dead man dropped to the floor, his lifeless eyes staring into darkness. Wiping her bloody daggers on the man's clothing, she sheathed them and then turned his body over. Running her hands through his jacket and pant pockets, Niyara found a small sack of coins. Tying them to her belt, Niyara stood and crossed to the window. Opening it, the young woman nimbly slipped out and climbed onto the roof of the inn, leaving Aerin dead in his room for the innkeepers to find. She was annoyed that he had been expecting her. Either someone had tipped him off, or he had seen him following him. Regardless, her work here was done.

"Good work, Niyara," a male voice spoke, standing behind the young woman on the roof. She froze for a moment, since those were the exact words that Garret had said to her when she had witnessed her first assassination. Turning around, Niyara gave Garret a dark look. She knew he had been watching her to ensure that she was safe. Niyara hated that. She was perfectly capable of looking after herself, although he did not seem to think so. It was so frustrating at times, but she was still glad that he had come. Her blue eyes quickly glanced over Garret's face. His shortly cut hair was the same shade as his eyes, dark and merciless. However, there was a light in his eyes, one that Niyara had not seen in any other person, save for the late Lord Mikhail and his family. Garret was the only member of the Guild of Assassins that she trusted, and even then, she could not bring herself to trust him completely, especially when she said words that she did not like to hear.

"I told you not to say that to me," she said simply, glaring at him with her blue eyes. She did not appreciate him using _those_ words to congratulate her. Niyara was grateful, and enjoyed her life more than she would have if she had stayed at the manor, but she hated those words. It reminded her of the look on Cale's face when he had seen her standing over his dead father. She could not forgive herself for that. She tightened her fist into a ball at the thought. Niyara did not often dream, but when she did, they were often nightmares from her childhood. They were either centred around her time being abused as a slave, or that night that had changed her life more drastically than being pulled out of slavery ever did.

"I was merely congratulating you on your first lone kill," Garret said, his face emotionless, then it broke into a grin, causing Niyara's face to soften. "Now come, the Guild court is awaiting your arrival."


	3. Chapter 2

_Running through the endless halls, Cale turned back to see the shapeless figures pursuing him, their razor sharp grins never leaving their black faces. Breathing heavily, Cale skidded around a corner of the dark corridor and kept on running, making a right at the end, then a sharp left. He could hear the ghostly figures behind him, getting closer and closer. At the end of the corridor, a door was left slightly ajar. Sprinting, Cale almost slammed into the door trying to get inside the room. Slamming the door behind himself, Cale leaned against it with his eyes closed, breathing deeply. Upon opening his eyes, Cale tried to scream but a shadowy hand had seeped through the side of the door and was covering his mouth. There stood Niyara, all grown up, in a long, flowing bloodstained white dress holding a knife. At her feet lay the body of his father. The raven haired woman sneered, then lunged at him with her dagger, her shadowy accomplices holding him still. Cale tried to scream._

"Sir? Sir wake up!"

Cale stirred to a voice and sweat dripping down his face. Opening his brown eyes, Cale's head shot up. Wiping his brow with the back of his hand, he looked up at the man standing beside him, concern on his young face. Cale was the general of the City Guard, and had been working on paperwork late into the night and to the early hours of the morning. Obviously, the general had accidentally fallen asleep at his desk.

"I came in to tell you some news sir, but you was sitting there in your chair with your head on the desk, sir. Looked like you were havin' a nightmare. Are you okay, sir?" The younger man said.

"Yes, yes, Gideon. I'm perfectly fine. What news do you bring me?" Cale asked once he had registered whom he was speaking with. Gideon was a young recruit, often bullied by the older men and used as a messenger boy. The older members of the City Guard also looked down upon Cale, because he was young and had been chosen as the new General after the last had retired. He was strong willed and fierce at times, but he also had a soft side and cared for everyone around him. Cale was an excellent leader, which was why he was chosen above the more experienced guards.

"Sir, there's been another killin'. In that old inn over in the poor district. D'you remembers that criminal Aerin we was searching for? The assassins got 'im first. Neck slit and stabbed through the back. All his gold was stolen too, sir," Gideon said, swallowing as he stood awkwardly in front of the General. He knew Cale was kind, but the younger man was a little shaken at seeing his role model shouting out in his sleep from fear.

The assassins. Cale hated hearing those words. His father had been killed by one many years ago. Although, for years Cale had thought that Niyara herself had killed his father, but upon looking back at that dreadful night, he remembered seeing a shadowy figure whisk Niyara away with a blade in his hand. It had been the assassin, and he had taken Niyara to train to become one of their filth. Cale hated that unknown assassin, and he hated Niyara even more so. He had trusted her, welcomed her into his home and tried his best to be friendly with her. What did she do to repay this? Get an assassin into her home to murder the very man that had showed her kindness.

"How many is that this week?" Cale replied with a sigh.

"Four, sir," Gideon responded, looking down at his boots for a moment. He was only seventeen, after all, so of course he was going to be nervous when prompted with questions.

"Thank you, Gideon. You may return to your post," Cale said, then smiled at the boy. "You've done well." His last words brought a smile to the Gideon's face as the young man left his office. Once Gideon had left, Cale's smile was replaced with a scowl.

The assassins were not only despised by the General, but they were a menace on society. They were destroying the city's legal system that had been put in place by the King himself. Criminals would be trialled and punished accordingly. The assassins were killing criminals who would by usually trialled fairly and made to serve their time in the city jail. However, citizens were bypassing the law by commissioning assassins to rid opponents in trade or people that had wronged them in the past by murdering them. It was impossible to track the people who commissioned the assassins – Cale had tried. The assassins themselves were impossible to track because they had dark magic on their side. They were hidden somewhere under Cale's very nose and he could do nothing to find them. The killings had gotten worst over the past few months. Four men had been killed this week, and it had not even been three full days. The only way to obtain information from the assassins was to capture one of them, but as of late, that had been impossible.

Tidying up the papers he was working on from the previous night, Cale's thought began to stray to the dream he had just awoken from. He had had that dream many times before, but of different variations, and none as vivid as that. This was the first time Niyara had been a _woman_, although he could not remember her face. Why did she keep appearing in her dreams? Were greater forces at work, or was someone messing with his mind. Frowning, Cale stacked his papers into a pile. Suddenly, the door to Cale's office was swung open and Gideon stood there again, looking shaken up as usual.

"What is it this time?" Cale asked, looking up from his papers.

"We 'ave leads, sir. Someone tipped us off! We know where the next assassin will strike, sir," Gideon said, pleased with this message. They could intercept and capture this assassin before he made his next kill, and capture their target as well.

"Do tell," Cale said, calming himself and sitting back in his chair. Motioning to the papers on the floor, Gideon nodded and scooped them up as quickly as possible before placing them back on the desk.

"Well, er. The man who told Captain Imoiria said that the assassin would be attacking at the brothel, tonight, sir. She has the details of the room an' time an' all, sir. Imoiria is comin' to talk to you now, sir," Gideon said, then took a step back as the tall, female Captain walked into the room. Gideon was a little intimidated by Cale, but he was absolutely terrified of Imoiria. Cale looked passed Gideon to see Imoiria, who was holding a letter in her hand.

"General. I do not know who the man was, but he gave me this," Imoiria said, glaring at Gideon who slunk back towards the door and out of the room. Her long, blonde hair was tied back into a tight bun and her piercing green eyes fell onto her General. She placed the letter on the table, motioning to Cale to read it. "I do not think this man can be trusted."

"It's better than nothing," Cale responded dryly. His relationship with Imoiria was a confusing one, at any rate. The young man tended not to let himself get too close to anyone, especially women. Women would only distract him from his work and duty to the King. However, it was well known among the guards that Imoiria had feelings for him. Taking the letter, Cale's brown eyes scanned the letter quickly.

_Guards,_

_An assassin is going to strike down the pirate Mryddren in room seven at the Dancing Queen tonight at 10:00pm. She will be disguised as a common whores. You may choose to use this information or ignore it, but it is there for the taking._

The letter was short, and not signed, but the handwriting was neat, indicating that their mysterious contact was well educated. A well-educated man who could write as such would not try to fool the guards that defend his city. There was nothing to lose in sending a group of his men to the brothel tonight. If there was an assassin, they would capture her – hopefully before she killed her target. If there was no assassin, then there was nothing to be done.

"Captain, round up your best men. If there is an assassin here tonight, then we do not want her escaping. Try capture her before she assassinates the pirate. That's an order. Now, go," Cale said, making eye contact with Imoiria. The young woman looked like she was about to argue against this plan, but nodded instead. Imoiria turned on her heel, and left the room. They were going to set more guards than normal around the brothel and try to capture the assassin before she even had a chance to disguise herself. Even though everything would go to plan, Cale could not help but have a knotted feeling in his stomach. The young man rarely had doubts about any mission such as this, but this time, he did. It was strange to hear of a female assassin. They were much rarer than their male counterparts, most likely due to their frail bodies. Even in his group of guards, there were few women. Imoiria had been the first woman to be appointed Captain in the entire history of Agonlaith. It would be impossible for her to enter the brothel tonight with guards stationed at every corner, let alone fight them all off at once. However, Cale did not underestimate the wit of assassins, and he had a feeling that something would go wrong tonight, or that there would be no assassin at all.


End file.
